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Financial Information:
Annual Report 2005
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| Automotive
Products |
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The
Automotive Products Business is composed of automotive bearings such as
hub unit bearings, needle roller bearings, and automotive components such
as electric power steering (EPS) systems and automatic transmission (AT)
components. Satisfying social needs, such as greater consideration for the
environment and safety, play a major role in product development at NSK.
Based on this approach, NSK uses its global production network to supply
a range of high-quality products to automakers throughout the world. |
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Review
of Operations
Global automobile production rose 5% year on year to
63.6 million units in fiscal 2004. Japanese automakers
recorded particularly strong gains, which proved to be a
tailwind for NSK.
Sales rose in all regions—Japan, the Americas,
Europe and Asia. Sales in Asia were particularly strong on
the back of rising auto production in Thailand, while
sales increased in Europe thanks to intensified marketing
activities targeting local automakers. As a result, the
segment posted sales of ¥316.2 billion, up 10.6% from
the previous year.
Demand for automotive bearings, specifically needle
roller bearings and hub unit bearings, was strong in
Japan. Overseas, there was an upturn in sales in the
Americas after a weak fiscal 2003, and this combined
with expanding sales in both Europe and Asia, especially
Thailand, to drive a sharp overall increase in sales of automotive
bearings.
Sales of automotive components such as EPS
systems and AT components increased in Japan, while
sales of steering columns in the Americas and Thailand
were also healthy.
Operating income edged up 0.2 % to ¥15.8 billion.
This reflected rising production costs associated with
tight supplies of steel and steps to boost output in
response to the sharp increase in demand. The operating
income margin was 5.0%.
Outlook
and Major Initiatives
We expect global automobile production to continue
growing at an annual rate of 1% to 2%. NSK is well positioned
to benefit from Japanese automakers’ expansion
of global production and growing car markets in the
ASEAN region and China. In response to rising demand,
NSK will strengthen its global production operations,
focusing particularly on strategic value-added products.
In addition to supplying hub unit bearings to Japanese
transplants in Europe, NSK has become the first Japanese
bearings manufacturer to begin supplying a European
automaker. This is an encouraging development and we
hope to make further inroads into this market going forward.
In Asia, we started local production of third-generation
hub unit bearings (HUB III) at our third facility at
Kunshan NSK Co., Ltd. We also plan to begin manufacturing
these bearings at NSK Bearings Manufacturing
(Thailand) Co., Ltd.
The ratio of cars with automatic transmissions is growing
overseas, as is demand for multi-overdrive automatic
transmission units. New applications for needle roller
bearings in engines and other areas are also emerging.
This is driving demand higher for needle roller bearings.
To actively capitalize on these opportunities, we are
increasing production in Japan and overseas, aiming to
become Asia’s leading producer of needle roller bearings.
Please refer to the Special Feature on page 8 for more
information about needle roller bearings.
In automotive components, we are building a global
manufacturing and marketing network centering on products
like EPS systems and steering columns, where we
enjoy a clear competitive advantage. With our EPS plant in
Poland, scheduled to start production in fiscal 2005, we
will further increase our capability to supply this product.
Topics
Changshu NSK Needle Bearing Co., Ltd.
NSK established Changshu NSK Needle Bearing Co., Ltd.
in China’s Jiangsu Province as a production site for
needle roller bearings. Operations commenced in June
2005. Initially, we will mainly manufacture tappet roller
bearings for car engines, but in the future, we plan to
expand our product lineup to meet demand from the
fast growing Chinese automotive market.
NSK Steering Systems Europe (Polska) Sp. z o. o.
In order to meet robust demand for EPS systems in
Europe, NSK has constructed an automotive components
plant in Walbrzych, Poland, close to the border
with the Czech Republic. After joining the European
Union in 2004, Poland is becoming one of the European
continent’s manufacturing hubs. By building an automotive
components production base in the country, we
plan to further reinforce our marketing activities targeting
European automakers.
New
Products
Multi-sensing Hub Unit Bearing
NSK developed this hub unit bearing by adding a load
monitoring function to an antilock braking system (ABS)
sensor-installed hub unit already on the market. This
multi-sensing hub unit bearing enhances safety by feeding
back data on the wheel’s grip force to the vehicle
control system.
Ultra High-speed Needle Roller Bearings for AT
Planetary Pinion Gears
With the increase in demand for multi-overdrive automatic
transmissions, the maximum revolution and rotation
speeds required for pinion gear needle roller
bearings is also increasing. NSK’s needle roller bearings
have achieved world-leading levels of performance by
increasing these speeds by 20% compared to bearings
currently used in six-gear AT units.
High Output Electric Power Steering (EPS) Systems
NSK has developed an EPS system with an output
approximately 1.5 times that of conventional products.
Thanks to the development of a brushless motor that
allows electrical power to be more efficiently converted
into steering assistance force, EPS systems, which were
initially designed mainly for light and compact vehicles,
can now also be fitted to medium-size vehicles with an
engine displacement of over 2,000cc.
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